As part of a special presentation during halftime of the USC-Boston College football game, the USC Trojan Marching Band honored the late Dr. Jerry Buss, Hall of Fame owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. Buss graduated from USC in 1957, earning a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and was a generous supporter of the athletic department’s scholarship fund. He was also a regular at many USC athletic sporting events.

When Buss first purchased the Lakers in 1979, he asked some of the Trojan Marching Band’s best musicians to perform at home games, while having the USC Song Girls dance at halftime as the “Golden Girls.” To this day, the Laker band has performed at every home game.

The halftime show featured some of Dr. Buss’s favorite songs, including “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme song from the movie Rocky and Louis Prima’s “Just a Gigolo.” The Laker Girls also made a special appearance, dancing to the Trojan Marching Band’s trademark anthem “Tusk,” while the band spelled out “BUSS” on the field.

Director of the Trojan Marching Band, Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, had this to say about Dr. Buss in a statement: “Dr. Buss was a longtime friend of the band. It is a great honor to pay tribute to him at halftime and a privilege to play his favorite Laker Band songs. We’re thrilled to have the world-famous Laker Girls perform with us and to welcome his family to the field.”